Concerns over Lyme disease in Western Australia

By Chloe Papas, John Cecil

A spate of people have been controversially diagnosed with Lyme disease in WA. With diagnoses not universally agreed upon, questions have been asked about what is being done for those who are suffering.

Damien White has been unwell for five years, suffering from extreme fatigue, nausea and a range of other symptoms that keep him bed-bound.

After a series of false diagnoses and visits to specialists, the 15-year-old from Kojonup, WA, was diagnosed with Lyme disease.

Lyme disease is a tick-borne disease causing symptoms that begin as mild, but can quickly become serious.

But it has never been recognised by health officials in Australia.

"It's real, and we are living with it," says Damien's mother Vicki.

Up to ten others in Kojonup have been diagnosed with the disease, and the ABC has been told there are several other cases in Newdegate, Albany, Manjimup and Perth.

Disagreement in the medical community

The medical industry is divided over the existence of Lyme disease in Australia.

Dr Hugh Derham is a Perth-based doctor who believes that it is extremely prevalent.

"I think it's a common disease, and it hasn't been diagnosed because no one is seriously looking for it," he says.

According to Dr Derham, there is a "wilful blindness" in the Australian medical community when it comes to the disease, and many doctors simply don't consider the diagnosis.

Many medical professionals who are treating patients for Lyme disease are sending patient samples overseas to get a full diagnosis.

"There's a lot of patients out there, and they're getting angry," says Dr Derham. "They've been fobbed off by the medical industry for years."

Stephen Graves from the Royal College of Pathology says that at this stage, no patient has presented with the disease which is found primarily in the US and Europe.

"People have looked, but we haven't yet found an endemic Australian tick species that carries a Borrelia [bacteria] that would cause Lyme disease."

Mr Graves says it is likely that if an Australian patient did have Lyme disease, they would respond to US and European tests and this has not happened.

"It doesn't mean it does not occur, it just means it hasn't been found yet."

Though there is significant controversy over the disease in the medical profession, one thing that most in the industry seem to agree on is that more research needs to be done.

Not ruling it out

Professor Peter Irwin from Murdoch University heads up a group whose research could assist the confirmation of the Borrelia bacterium's presence in Australia.

The group are specifically researching ticks, looking for any type of pathogen that may be transmitted to humans or animals.

So far his team have not found any evidence of the Borrelia bacteria, but Professor Irwin says it is early days.

"One of our main concerns is that we might inadvertently have ticks here in Australia that have been introduced in the last 20 or 30 years, that nobody knows about," he says.

There is a chance that ticks have hitched a ride into Australia with unknowing travellers. "That would be a very serious finding and have implications for the possibility of Lyme disease being transmitted here," says Professor Irwin.

Vicki White echoes the concerns of many others in the WA community. "There's obviously something going on, and instead of ignoring it, I think more effort needs to go into finding out what is happening."